Undergrad dean adds second title

Steve Nowicki will welcome a second placard to his desk.

The dean of undergraduate education can add the title of vice provost for undergraduate education to his resume, Provost Peter Lange announced Wednesday.

"Nowicki's responsibility spans several schools," Lange said. "That's the biggest reason [for the added title]."

Lange said the titular expansion had been discussed for some time, as Nowicki's purview encompasses both undergraduate schools and their programming, but administrators wanted to wait until Fall to make it official.

Nowicki joined the University as an assistant professor in 1989, and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass fellow has taught in the departments of biology, psychology and neurobiology since that time. He was appointed dean of natural sciences in 2004 and ascended to the ranks of top University officials as the first-ever dean of undergraduate education in 2007, a position created by President Richard Brodhead to unite the academic and social aspects of the student experience.

DukeEngage, the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid and the Division of Student Affairs fall under Nowicki's umbrella of responsibility. Nowicki's primary tasks this year include overseeing the maintenance of facilities that affect the undergraduate experience, and solidifying plans for New Campus-for which he wrote "Uniting Old and New: A Vision for the Integrated Development of Duke's West & Central Campus."